Tag Archives: Sports

Sports

Knights Win Region XXI Again

 

 

Is it time to call Jeff Mejia’s Knights team a dynasty?

bserver came out earlier this past May, the NECC Knights had just finished the regular season with a 25-2 record, winning 16 straight to round up the season. The team qualified for the number 1 seed in the in the Region XXI tournament, where they crushed the competition and won the tournament.

On the first day of the competition they defeated Massasoit, 9-1, in a game that would only make it to the 7th inning before the mercy rule was called because the Knights were clobbering Warriors.

The next day the Knights kept rolling, beating Holyoke 10-4, and then the day after in the championship game of the tournament they went on to win against Holyoke again with a final score of 17-7. The Knights made it to the NJCAA DIII World Series for the 4th straight year, 3 of those coming under Coach Jeff Mejia.

“It is a new location this year and it should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to getting to North Carolina. We know the routine now and that should definitely help us,” said Coach Mejia.

“It’s been a great run. These kids always step up. They are a group of baseball players, that the tighter the game is the better they play.” Unfortunately, the Knights winning season would not transfer to NC.

They lost the 2 games they played, leading to an early exit. The 1st game they lost to Tyler Junior College, 5-1, and then they lost in the elimination game the next day against Century College, 10-7.

Their losses in the World Series did not take away from their amazing season.

The NECC Knights won many individual awards including, Coach Mejia winning Coach of the Year, and MacDaniel Singleton, Keith Linnane, Ryley Warnock, and Jake Rayner all winning Gold Glove Players of the Year awards. 7 players made it on the Division III All-New England team as well.

All the sophomores from the team have transferred to 4 year colleges which is no easy task.

The NECC Knights are looking forward to their fall practice season, where they will get ready for the regular season in the spring and look to dominate on the field once again.

 

Sports

Knights Basketball Schedule

 

November

Tue. 3 at NHTI          7pm

Thu. 5 at Great Bay   6pm

Sat. 7 at TBA             TBA

Thu. 12 vs MassBay  6pm

Sat. 14 vs Holyoke    1pm

Tue. 17 vs Massasoit 6pm

Thu. 19 at Bristol      7pm

Sat. 21 vs UConn Avery 1pm

Tue. 24 at Quinsigamond TBA

 

December

Tue. 1 at Roxbury         TBA

Thu. 3 at Bunker Hill    7pm

Sat. 5 at Springfield Tech  1pm

Thu. 10 vs Southern Maine CC  6pm

Sat. 12 at Gateway (CT)  1pm

 

January

Thu. 7 vs Roxbury         6pm

Tue. 12 vs Bristol          5pm

Thu. 14 at MassBay      7pm

Sat. 16 at UConn Avery  TBA

Mon. 18 vs Gateway (CT)  1pm

Thu. 21 at Rhode Island   TBA

Sat. 23 at Lincoln NE    TBA

Tue. 26 vs Bunker Hill   7pm

Thu. 28 vs Quinsigamond   6pm

Sat. 30 vs Springfield Tech   1pm

 

February

Thu. 4 at Massasoit        TBA

Thu. 11 vs Dean             6pm

Sat. 13 at Holyoke         TBA

Sports

Baseball Team awards and Transfer Athletes

 

 

All-New England Division III Team

1B Jake Rayner

2B MacDaniel Singleton

OF Colby Maiola

OF Harrison Smoske

P Zarif Paiazetovic

P Ryan McAuliffe

DH Ellido Reyes

Honorable Mentions

SS Ryley Warnock

C Keith Linnane

Coach of the Year: Jeff Mejia

Gold Glove Players of the Year

C MacDaniel Singleton

C Keith Linnane

SS Ryley Warnock

1B Jake Rayner

Knights Transfers

P Ryan McAuliffe

– St. John’s University

OF Harrison Smoske

– Franklin Pierce University

SS Ryley Warnock

– Ave Marie University (Florida)

INF Cole Josselyn

– Endicott College

2B MacDaniel Singleton

– Eastern Connecticut State U

P Zarif Paiazetovic

– Eastern Connecticut State University

1B Jake Rayner

– Rivier University

UTIL Nick Turco

– Saint Leo University (Florida)

 

Sports

Sit down with Sue MacAvoy

 

Sue MacAvoy has been the Athletic Director at Northern Essex for 16 years now and is looking forward to the upcoming school year, but most importantly the upcoming sports seasons. I got to sit down with Sue and talk to her about the different sports offered and her thoughts on them before the school year starts.

Here is what she had to say.

On Cross Country

Northern Essex has not fielded a cross country team since 7 years ago, and MacAvoy is trying to bring it back. NECC Athletics has just hired cross country, Thomas Bradley, who had coached cross country at Wilmington High School for the past 18 years before announcing his retirement at the end of last season. His retirement would not last long though, as he signed on with NECC earlier this summer. “We’re excited to have him and his experience,” MacAvoy said.

On Volleyball

This is another team that NECC Athletics has not been able to get on the court since 2 years ago, when MacAvoy retired as head coach. However, MacAvoy is actively trying to bring the team back. “We are looking at re-vamping some things, and then we are going definitely going to try to bring it back next year,” she said. NECC Athletics will be looking to hire a new head coach throughout the year and will need to start recruiting students sooner than later.

On Baseball and Softball

The Knights baseball team undoubtedly had the most successful season his past year out of all the teams at Northern Essex. Now both the baseball and softball teams are looking to take advantage of the fall before their regular seasons start. They will both play 3-4 scrimmages with other schools but they will not keep statistics or scores to make it purely a scrimmage atmosphere.

Also this is the second year NECC will have a full softball squad and MacAvoy wants to make sure students and athletes know this. “We are trying to get the word out that we do have softball here,” she said.

On Sports Sign-Ups

Sign-ups for sports teams will start the first week of school and all fall teams will be having meetings then. Tryouts will happen the first weekend that school starts. Be sure to visit www.athletics.necc.mass.edu or contact Sue MacAvoy if you are interested in joining any of the teams.

 

Sports

Knights Basketball Ready to Go

 

The Knights basketball team’s season starts on November 3rd at NHTI, which means they have little time to improve their play if the hope to build upon their losing 12-16 season last year.

They put a very young team on the court last season only having 2 sophomores on the roster. This meant growing pains for a team with little to no chemistry because they were mostly all new to the team. Sophomore, Matt Jameson believes the team can make great strides this upcoming season.

“This year we have a lot more guys returning so we will have more experience so that will help and we just need to continue to focus on defense and the offense will come along with that,” Jameson said.

Jameson also talked about his goals for the season.

“My goals are to help lead the team to a winning season, make the playoffs, improve all the parts of my game from last year, and hopefully win a championship.”

It will be a tough task for the team to make the playoffs, but Jameson is very confident in the Knights. Athletic Director, Sue MacAvoy is also confident in the team and is confident in Jameson.

“Matt (Jameson) is a good player, I think he’ll be a good leader on the court this year,” MacAvoy said.

Another thing the Knights have going for them is familiarity with their coach, Darren Stratton. For most of the players it will be their second year under Stratton, but Stratton has been around coaching the Knights basketball team for 17 years.

“Coach Stratton is a great coach, he knows a lot about the game. He is also a great guy that does a lot for his players,” Jameson said.

MacAvoy also had much praise for the coach.

“I put him into the head coaching role, and he’s done a phenomenal job here. He truly cares about his players. He cares for them like a family and he is just an extremely hard worker,” MacAvoy said. She made sure to highlight that he truly does care for the players on his team.

The Knights have a lot of work to do but with some hard work, effort, a leader like Jameson, and a coach like Coach Stratton, they can do some big things this season.

 

Campus Life, Sports

Chris Nowinski Speaks at NECC

 
nowicki&glenn

On Oct. 21 in the Hartleb Technology Center, Christopher Nowinski, a former Harvard football player, pro wrestler, NFLPA advisor and author, spoke to about 100 people about the severity of concussions and head injuries.

Nowinski, author of the book “Head Games” and founder of the Concussion Foundation, handed out pamphlets and sheets on how to prevent head injuries. Different sheets were prepared for parents, coaches and athletes, filled with the actual definition of a concussion, symptoms of a concussion, and what to do in the event of a concussion.

Head injuries and concussions hit home with Nowinski because he suffered a severe concussion that put him out of sports forever.

Concussions in professional sports have been a hot-button topic for the past few years, more specifically in the NFL and the NHL. The fast, hard-hitting games put all players at risk of a career-ending injury. These concussions in the long term can also lead to death or suicide.

In 2012, longtime NFL linebacker Junior Seau succumbed to his long-term brain injury and took his own life, shooting himself in the chest. Seau suffered a type of chronic brain damage known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This type of brain damage has been found in other deceased NFL players.

Nowinski now goes around the country speaking to different groups, talking about the importance of concussion education.

The “Team Up” program gives training sessions to educators and coaches, who can then teach the lessons locally.

“It became a concerning thing for me, which I found educational, because this year alone I’ve had 2 kids with concussions,” said Darren Stratton, the coach of the NECC basketball team. Stratton brought his whole team to the presentation so they could learn about the severity of head injuries as well.

“I think Chris and his department are doing an excellent job, presenting and making awareness about it,” Stratton said.

“Heads Up” is an extension of the Concussion Foundation specially made for youth athletes, coaches, and parents. It highlights that concussions can happen at any age and can affect you for the rest of your life if not treated properly.

Jack Roy, a coach in the Haverhill Junior Football League, was in the crowd and related the presentation to his youth football players.

“It is extremely important for coaches at all levels to understand what is at stake here, the kids’ safety and overall health. We, as coaches, are on the front lines and must take charge in educating the players and the parents. This is a serious issue that must be dealt with.”

Roy also enjoyed Nowinski’s speech.

“He did a great job. I wish we could have had another hour or two more to discuss his programs and the research. Who better to talk about this issue than someone with his experience?” Roy said.

Katherine Regus was critiquing Nowinski’s presentation for her Business Communications class and was impressed.

“I have to say that I really liked it, he was direct and he went straight to the point,” Regus said. “He engaged with the audience very well trying to ask questions related to situations that involved the athletes that were sitting there.”

Chris Nowinski’s presentation was the first of four STEM Series presentations at NECC.

To find out more on brain injuries and Nowinski, visit www.ConcussionFoundation.org.

Sports

Cross Country Program

 

The cross country program was revived earlier this semester when Athletic Director Sue MacAvoy hired Thom Bradley to coach and bring in students to the team. The recruiting process started off slow, but one student has been there from the start.

Jared Shepard was the lone NECC runner for the first two meets of the season, this being his first year of organized cross country. Unfortunately, during the second meet, Shepard got injured.

“My first meet I ran a 30:56 (5 miles) and my second meet I improved to a 30:10. I actually sprained my ankle about 4 miles into that race, and have been having problems with my leg since then, so I am unable to run right now,” Shepard said.  Shepard is staying in high spirits though, looking forward to running again.

“The day of the meet I have a big breakfast; a few eggs, bacon, some fruit, et cetera. I drink a lot of water, from the time I wake up until the time I run I probably have 4 or 5 bottles, and a few more after I run. I stretch for 15 to 20 minutes, then do some jogging and running to loosen and warm myself up. Right before the race starts I do a few sprints and then I line up and we go,” Shepard said.  Sue MacAvoy has only good things to say about Shepard and his efforts.

“Jared Shepard is trying to get this program off the ground, is attending practices daily and even runs in the President’s running club on his own time to get a little extra workout in and promote the team on campus,” MacAvoy said.  Since Shepard got injured, three more runners have been added to the team.

“Thankfully, more people signed up. I ran the first two meets by myself, but now there are two girls, Sarah and Leah, and another guy, Austin, who is a very talented runner and Spartan Racer. We have a great team and we all get along well when we’re together,” said Shepard.  The 3 new runners all had impressive debuts. Austin Thiele ran 32:38 in his 8K race. Leah Finnegan ran 28:29 and Sara Wullf ran 32:50 in their 5K race.

The team has two meets left in the season, one on Oct. 1 and the other on Nov. 7. Shepard hopes to get healthy soon to start running again, but if he can’t finish the season he will be looking forward to spring when he takes on the track season, another program NECC has recently revived.

 

Sports

Nowinski Coming to NECC

 

Former professional wrestler and Harvard University graduate Christopher Nowinski will be coming to NECC’s Haverhill campus on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to educate and promote awareness on sports-related concussions.  Nowinski worked as a wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001-2003. He won the WWE Hardcore Championship twice, becoming the youngest Hardcore Champion in the company’s history. Playing sports in college and wrestling, Nowinski was surrounded by concussions all the time, whether he was getting them or watching friends suffer from them.

After his wrestling career, Nowinski went on to publish “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis” in Oct. 2006, which looked at the effects of head trauma among athletes. Many NFL players and wrestlers took part in the book. It became so popular that is was made into a documentary.  Nowinski has made appearances on ESPN and CNN to talk about his book and is now coming to NECC to talk more in-depth about long-term head trauma and concussions. He will be in the Hartleb Technology Center at 7 p.m. with a 60 minute presentation and a question-and-answer period afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.

For additional information contact Carolyn Knoepfler, PhD, NECC’s assistant dean of math and science at 978-556-3541 or cknoepfler@necc.mass.edu.

 

Sports

Track Correction

 

 

In the Oct. 7 issue of the Observer, in the article “Track is back after 2 years,” there was a mistake regarding the new head coach’s name. The new track coach is Mike Giardina, not Beau Couture. The Observer regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion it may have caused.  Giardina is from Lowell and it will be his first time coaching track this spring.

If students are interested in joining track this upcoming Spring, contact Giardina through email at mgiardina@necc.mass.eduor or you can meet with him face-to-face Wednesdays from 3:30-5 p.m. in his office, room 137D in the Sport and Fitness Center.

Sports

Carlos Pena Finally Retires

 

Carlos Pena has decided to finally call it a career and retire from Major League Baseball.

The former Haverhill resident played in the MLB for 14 years for eight different teams. On Friday, Sept. 18, he signed a one day contract with the Tampa Bay Rays — the team he holds closest to his heart — so he could retire with the club. He played for the Rays from 2007-2010, making it to the World Series in 2008, but eventually losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to the Eagle-Tribune, Pena still thinks about Haverhill to this day.

“Haverhill High prepared me well. It was a great school. The YMCA was where me and my brothers always hung out. We’d get up at four in the morning and go hit in the batting cages in the basement,” Pena told the Tribune.

“I could mention so many people in Haverhill that I’m grateful for.”

In addition to graduating from Haverhill High School, Pena also attended Northeastern University in Boston.

In 1998 he was drafted into the MLB by the Texas Rangers. He got picked in the first round and was the 10th pick overall.

During his 14 years in the MLB, he played 1,494 games, scored 745 runs, piled up 1,146 hits, and hit 286 home runs.

Pena is now an analyst for the MLB Network.